In the economic world, BRICS is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. These countries are all known to be at the beginning of newly advanced economic development. The acronym was created by Jim O'Neill in a 2001 paper entitled "Building Better Global Economic - BRICS". The acronym has come into worldwide use as a symbol of the shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies towards the developing world. G7 countries are existing nations with well-developed economies. It is estimated that the BRICS economies will overtake G7 economies by 2050. Although there is argument of whether South Africa should be included in the BRIC countries due to its population of 50 million, it was still included. China and India, predictively, will become the dominant global suppliers of manufactured goods and services, while Brazil and Russia will become similarly dominant as suppliers of raw materials.
India is the second largest country with a population of over 1.2 billion people. The country thrives off of small businesses headed by poor families trying to make a living and to support their families. In the past decade however, India has made it clear they want to expand their horizons. This idea is not favored with everyone due to the fear of forgetting India's roots and traditions to the modern way (or Western way). It is also causing a stir about the decline in profit to small businesses.
The value of Indian economic output in 2012 will be $1.95 trillion and $2.12 trillion in 2013. That makes it one of the 10 largest economies in the world. India has already overtaken several rich countries such as Canada as far as the size of its economy goes. But faster economic growth is important as well as creating a robust economy that offers many opportunities to 1.2 billion Indians. The way to ensure this is not temporary; it's monetary and fiscal stimulus. This process will bring about more structural changes such as an investment revival, a new wave of reforms, higher investment in human capital and better infrastructure.
Independence heightened their need to flee in order to achieve a decent standard of living in the West. But in their 65 years of independence they have done nothing but convert their "precious traditions  into new Western traditions such as art, fashion, music and most importantly wealth. Even though the British were harsh in their ruling; they brought many positive influences into the country. The British established an efficient railway system, a criminal vindication system, eradicating the caste system, and their constant attempt to bring about equality.
The promise of wealth continues to entice Indians from the poor classes to desperate measures of leaving the country. Media has broadcast to Indians what first world countries are like. This makes them realize what kind of economic crisis they are in. They then believe that they could be living better if they left their family, friends and everything that is familiar to them in order to start a new life in a new, harsh, foreign country. "The cold truth is that while the rest of the world takes and celebrates its rich food, India is being overridden with the fast food 'junk' industry. While we celebrate its rich cultural heritage, India is yearning for Western retail capitalism. This is where Walmart Stores makes it big debut.
Every country is trying to increase their productivity and become the best they can be with what they already have. Nations around the world have improved in government policies, overseas investments, infrastructure and many more. Majority of these countries however, are doing both. The most significant of these countries is China. Its per capita GDP had increased to 5,400 U.S. dollars from 1,000 dollars in 2002 when China was the world's 6th biggest economy. China has been making far more progressive achievements since then. Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported that China's economy has been growing rapidly since 2002. It's total GDP passed that of Japan in 2010, which made China the world's second largest economy. Other achievements include hosting international events such as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai Expo in 2010. Events such as these helped eliminate China of the global financial crisis at an early stage and achieved influence in the world arena.
However, China has defied all these predictions. The two countries have similarities but they also have their differences. China is under pressure to let its currency rise, raise domestic consumption and grow its service industry to cut reliance on exports and investment. Japan had a similar crisis over two decades ago. Additionally a slow decline in economic growth for seven straight quarters pushes China in the same direction as Japan. Analysts have strong assumptions that growth could be closer to 5 percent by the end of the decade rather than the nearly 10 percent it has averaged for the last 30 years. These revived concerns predict that China faces a Japan related battle with stagnation.
Analysts say China is hardly a Japan in the making. China is a nation with plenty of room for greater consumption and wealth. Its slow-rising currency and steps to cool property markets will leave it in a good position to avoid Japan's experience. Japan's economy exploded due to the sky-high property taxes, prolonged low interest rates and unstable currency value which brought on the nation's economic stagnation.
Countries are all competing to reach the top but not everyone is going to make it and stay there successfully. China has established a socialist market economy and their achievements in economic development have drawn worldwide attention, boosting rapid economic growth and making great contributions to economic development. India is attempting to become the best they can be and jump out of their poverty hole. The CEO of Bharti Walmart states, "The government is asking companies like us to demonstrate that we can make a meaningful difference to the lives of consumers and farmers. It is a good challenge. We accept that challenge. Once we demonstrate that it has no negative impact on small shop owners, other states will open as well. 
Brazil is soon to be one of the top energy suppliers in the world. With newly discovered oil reserves under miles of water, rock and shifting salt, Brazil has approximately 500 miles of oil and petroleum off the Atlantic coastline. In 2009, Brazil states that the discovery estimates up to 50 billion barrels, which is enough to lift Brazil into the major leagues of oil-producing nations.
Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro) is Brazil's energy company in control of the newly discovered oil supply. The energy company explores for oil and gas and produces, refines and transports oil and gas products. In 2006, Brazil celebrated their self-sufficiency in oil and gas production. On average, daily production of oil and oil products was at an average of 1.9 million barrels per day. This meant they were exporting more than they were importing.
Petrobras has made a number of major oil discoveries in offshore Brazil since 2000. In 2007, the first field discovered by Petrobras called Tupi, was estimated between five billion and eight billion barrels, making it the biggest single Western Hemisphere find in at least three decades. It is also predicted to boost Brazil's oil reserves by approximately forty percent. In 2010 Petrobras announced another major discovery; between 3.7 to 15 billion barrels of oil reserves (fields offshore of Rio de Janeiro) that could double Brazil's known reserves. In 2011, Petrobras reported reserves of close to thirteen billion barrels of oil. The bulk of Petrobras' production comes from its operations in Brazilian waters. The company is recognized as a leader in offshore drilling technology and deep water wells. In 2011 it was operating more than 130 production fields.
Petrobras is also a major ethanol producer, which makes Brazil the second largest ethanol producer in the world. Petrobras plans to invest billions of dollars in bio-fuel development to ensure Brazil's fuel independence as the economy and population grows. Ethanol fuel is usually used as motor fuel, a bio-fuel addictive for gasoline. It is mainly used in Brazil and the United States. The reason of its importance is that ethanol is produced through natural resources. It can be made from common crops such as corn, sugarcane and potatoes. In the United States there has been an ongoing debate of whether to replace gasoline with ethanol.
While Brazil is a top producer of sugarcane ethanol, the United States is a producer of corn ethanol. In 2011, the United States was exporting significant amounts of corn ethanol to Brazil for the first time. However the tables have turned due to a drought destroying US corn producers. With promises of a near future, Brazil seems to be the potential supplier of ethanol to the United States. Brazilian sugar cane ethanol is considered to be a very advanced bio-fuel compared to the corn ethanol produced in the US due to the low carbon emissions involved in its production. The price gap between Brazil and the rest of the world is at 12 per cent and 20 per cent for diesel. This then means that if you were to place those factors into a realistic scenario, gasoline pump prices would go up an additional 8.2 percent and diesel pump prices would go up an additional 16.4 cents.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic reforms in the 1990s caused a huge increase in privatization. Soon, most industries including energy and defense-related sectors became privatized. The protection of property rights is still weak and the private sector is constantly interfered by the state. The Russian economy consists of globally competitive commodity producers and other less competitive heavy industries. In 2009, Russia became the world's largest exporter of both oil and natural gas helping to increase their GDP to 1.2 trillion (CIA).
Russia has lost territories with important natural and human resources and therefore does not seem close to recovering it. Despite owning a awe-inspiring nuclear arsenal and the capacity for some military projection, the country is in no condition to challenge the two global economic giants of the mid-21st century. Russia's resources are finite and its demography is declining, regardless of having a high quality human force. Russia's trade surpluses are either growing or comfortable, but its structural position is fragile due to its dependency on oil and gas.
Roads, ports, railways, electricity and information communications technology are all important enablers of economic growth and better living standards in emerging markets and developing countries around the world. BRICS countries like India, Brazil and China have all announced significant commitments to infrastructure development. The success of these efforts will depend on their capacity to follow through on these commitments and a number of critical project design and implementation issues, including cross-sector cooperation in the form of public-private partnerships.